Abstract
Horizontal drilling in many cases allows for a reduction of the number of wells required to develop a field. Compared to vertical wells, each horizontal well has a larger drainage area. At the same time, planned production can be achieved with a lower drawdown, which extends the life of a well and improves recovery factor and cumulative production. Reduction of the number of wells reduces environmental footprint. Hence, field development with horizontal wells has multiple advantages as compared to vertical drilling. However, horizontal drilling is more complex from technical perspective and requires thorough feasibility studies and utilization of certain methods and technologies to reduce risks related to geology and drilling and improve chances of success, achieve planned production rate withing the anticipated budget and timeframe and, ultimately, planned return on investment.
Despite the advantages, horizontal drilling is not broadly used in Kazakhstan and in general in the Caspian region although in many cases it may be feasible. One of the reasons could be lack of awareness of the methods and technologies utilized in horizontal drilling.
Geosteering is one of the methods required in horizontal drilling. It is the process of adjusting the borehole trajectory while drilling based on interpretation of logging-while-drilling data in order to achieve geological objectives.
